It was merely a sudden feeling, perhaps what people call a sixth sense; I hadn't heard the slightest sound of footsteps or breathing, yet my entire body tightened abruptly, my heart gave a wrench, and an inexplicable chill ran through me, along with the distinct sensation that someone was staring fixedly at my back. Initially, a flicker of hope arose—could it be Tan Ping'er? But then a sharp thought struck: how could Tan Ping'er arrive behind me so silently, without uttering a word? Could it be…?

I quickly reached for the "Yao Ku'er" on my head, only to find that my "ultimate weapon," which had been covering my mouth and nose, was gone without my realizing when! I paused slightly, my heart pounding like thunder. Damn it all, I must have lost the "Yao Ku'er" while running blindly earlier, and my heavy breath, thick with "Yang energy," must have alerted the so-called "Yin entity"; or perhaps, without the deterrent of the "Yao Ku'er," the "Yin entity" became fearless and thus dared to commit the gravest offense of approaching me from behind?

Regardless, my sixth sense screamed that the silent person behind me was definitely no friend, and their origin must be highly questionable.

Just as I was about to turn and face the person, I suddenly recalled what my grandfather had said: when walking at night and feeling someone behind you, never blindly confront them directly. Such a person is very likely a "Half-Puppet"; if you rashly face them, the "Yang energy" you exhale will be instantly sucked in by the "Half-Puppet," quickly draining your three souls and seven spirits, turning you into a "Half-Puppet" yourself. Of course, it might not be a "Half-Puppet" but something else, like a wolf, quietly waiting behind you for you to turn, ready to sink its sharp teeth into your throat immediately. Running was also out of the question; many wild beasts remain still if you are still, but they strike the moment you move. The only thing to do was to calm down, and calm down again, and again.

So, the first step must be to probe what exactly is behind me?

But how to probe? Since I couldn't turn, my eyes naturally saw nothing, and besides an embroidered shoe, I possessed no other weapon. What if the thing behind me was some venomous insect or ferocious beast? If I rashly swung the embroidered shoe backward, and it opened its mouth to bite, wouldn't my arm be truly lost forever, like "water hitting rotten firewood, gone without return"? I couldn't bear to risk my arm, so of course, I couldn't risk my legs either; there was far more flesh on my legs than on my hands. If I kicked back violently, wouldn't I be playing right into that thing's hands?

I was at a complete loss, standing motionless, yet my mind spun through thousands of possibilities like a giant windmill. I devised many testing methods, but upon reflection, few seemed feasible.

Perhaps the thing behind me, seeing me standing still and having promptly covered my mouth and nose, didn't make any further moves. It didn't shift to face me either, remaining silently behind me, still watching me. Of course, this scenario was based purely on my imagination or feeling.

I slightly spread my legs and slowly lowered my head to look **. The snow-white ground revealed no shadow at all. Naturally, the field of vision from ** was quite limited; perhaps the thing was standing a bit farther away, and the lack of a shadow was also a strong possibility.

Seeing my **—which, unbound by the "Yao Ku'er," appeared somewhat prominent—I suddenly remembered a deadly move from martial arts novels: the groin kick.

Fellow, since you stand there unmoving, it means your guard is down. Don't blame me for being impolite then; I’ll kick your two troublesome orbs and ensure you have no descendants—you can’t blame me. Someone lurking silently behind another person is certainly not someone you want to cross. Kicking you to death wouldn't even count as excessive self-defense.

To ensure a fatal blow, I took a small step backward, gauged the distance, and threw my right leg out like lightning toward the crotch area of where I imagined the person stood. To my surprise, my back leg nearly hit the back of my own head. It met no resistance; the only thing I struck was air. Instead, I had used too much force, lost balance on one leg, flung my arms out, and tumbled straight backward onto the snowy ground. Fortunately, acting on instinct, I planted my hands on the ground, stiffened my left leg, and let my right leg arc gracefully through the air as I fell backward onto the ground.

If a beauty were in this position, it should be extremely alluring: elbows braced on the ground, upper body leaning slightly up, buttocks flat on the ground, knees slightly bent and spread wide apart. The only flaw was that the thing, unrestrained by the "Yao Ku'er," lay limp and devoid of its usual arrogance.

The reason my implement was trembling so meekly, lying low, was a "person." More accurately, it was an entirely pale, naked "**woman." How could I judge her to be a woman? Simple: because she was naked, I could see very clearly. Because I could see clearly, I knew she lacked male characteristics, while the three female traits were quite distinct, even though this woman appeared to me in stark black and white. The woman’s long hair was coiled atop her head like a black straw hat. Her eye sockets, nostrils, mouth, the two "grapes" on her chest, and the "wild grass" in her hidden parts were all as black as spilled ink, dotting her snow-white body. The white and black contrasted sharply, clearly demarcated.

This woman held something resembling a crossbow pointed directly at me. But what made my heart pound like thunder was that this woman, like the stilt house and those few Masang trees, was suspended in the air, though the distance between her feet and the ground was much smaller.

It must be noted that this woman was neither Tan Ping'er nor the **soul I saw in Anle Cave; she was a completely unfamiliar face.

In my state of utter terror, I actually thought: Could this woman be Madam Mo?

Before I could figure out this question, the surrounding air began to ripple, like a thin, transparent veil of water slowly breaking apart. Faces, all with their dark tresses coiled atop their heads, gradually emerged, revealing more and more of their bodies. In a blink, I was surrounded by naked women in black and white, clutching all sorts of weapons I couldn't name, their feet also hovering some distance above the ground.

"You... you... are you people or... ghosts?" My mouth was dry, and I stammered out the question.

No one answered. But the naked women around me gathered closer and closer, all emerging from the very air!

"Are you... are you Madam Mo?" I asked again, immediately wishing I could slap myself. How could so many women all be Madam Mo? Damn it, my brain must have been terrified into spasms.

The **s, their black eye sockets fixed on me, showed a look of ghastly sorrow when I mentioned "Madam Mo." They pulled open their dark mouths and let out silent, anguished cries. I could clearly feel that beneath their frenzied expressions was the sound of weeping sorrow...

To be frank, seeing the expressions on the faces of these floating **s, my curiosity outweighed my fear. They had just been on high alert, but the moment I mentioned Madam Mo, their emotions became so agitated—it could be described as "collective outrage"—an emotion laced with hatred. Could they be maids or other women persecuted by Madam Mo? Or perhaps women who vied for favor with Madam Mo? Considering that Tan Ping'er had once visited the "Consort Spring," I leaned towards the latter possibility.

However, if these women were the consorts of Chief Qin Cheng, given the geographical location of the Tujia people and Qin Cheng's status, the consorts he married should also be Tujia women. From what I knew, Tujia women did not coil their hair on top of their heads; even if they did, they would certainly wear a silver-ornamented hat or wrap a foot-high piece of white or black cloth around their heads.

I could clearly discern the gender of the people before me, but I couldn't judge their ethnicity at all!

"I'm sorry, if... if Madam Mo... harmed... harmed you, it has... has nothing to do with me. I'm just... just passing through..." Guessing they were Qin Cheng's consorts who met this fate due to jealousy, I quickly stammered out an explanation.

Mentioning "Madam Mo" again poured oil on the fire, their emotions completely spiraling out of control. They rushed forward silently screaming toward me, stirring up gusts of sinister, cold wind.

Scared senseless, I scrambled to my feet, preparing to fight my way desperately through the encirclement...